Wirecard at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

Munich-based Wirecard AG has positioned itself as a solution and service provider for the technical processing of multifunctional mobile payment solutions as it presents the company for the first time at the Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona. Smartphones including SIM cards are the link between the consumer, the bank and the merchant, and mean that mobile phone companies in particular play a key role in mobile payment solutions.

Mobile payments have been on the market for several years. The most recent developments in payments via Internet browsers or apps are another key sales channel for online merchants. However, mobile phones are not just playing an increasingly important role in eCommerce, but also at the point of sale via NFC technology. Consumers who do not have a phone that offers this function can currently use NFC stickers to bridge the technology gap. The NFC sticker is attached to the back of the mobile phone and is connected with the mobile app. The payment app provides the user with end-to-end transparency for transactions, the credit balance available and additional services.

“The technical pioneers are the companies that provide virtual “wallets”, in order to fill these with their own services or third-party services. As a neutral service provider in the background, we are the right partner to control these processes, such as registration, real-time creation of a card, and additional services via the smartphone,” added Christian von Hammel-Bonten.

The Wirecard Group, which has its own bank as part of the Group, has the licenses required for finance transactions in order to be able to issue virtual or contact-free cards that are based on eMoney coupon cards, or MasterCard or VISA. The range of services is rounded off by the acceptance and processing of card payments, account management, payment processing, commercial network operations and additional banking services.